Improvement in music-leaf turners



2 Sheets--Sheet1.

G. L. DIMPFEL. Music-Leaf Turner. No, 160,399. Patented March 2, I875.

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2 Sheets--Sheel 2. G. L. DIM PFEL.

Music-Leaf Turner.

" Patented March 2,1875.

m flaw THE GRAPMlC C0.PNDTO.-L TH.39&4'| PARK PLAGENAC NI'IED STATESPATENT Grrron.

GEORGE L. DIMPFEL, OF BENIGIA, CALIFORNIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN MUSIC-LEAF TURNERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 160,399, dated March 2,1875; application filed September 14, 1874.

'0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE L. DIMPFEL, f Benicia, Solano county, Stateof California, ave invented a l\Iusic-LeafTurner and Holdr and I dohereby declare the following deription and accompanying drawings aresufcient to enable any person skilled in the art r science to which itmost nearly appertains, a make and use my said invention without irtherinvention or experiment.

My invention relates to a mechanism to be mployed in turning the leavesof books or ose music while the person is playing, withut stopping orusing the hands, and also to device for holding such loose leaves inplace hile they are being turned.

Referring to the accompanying drawing for more complete explanation ofmy invention, igure 1, Sheet 1, is a perspective view of my evice. Fig.2, Sheet 1, shows the rods which urn the lever. Fig. 3, Shcet2, is asectional iew of the pulley and sprin Fig. 4-, Sheet is a sideelevation. Fig. 5 is a view of the djusting-ratchet. Fig. 6 shows themanner f stiffening the leaves.

A is an inclined rack upon which the book r music is placed, its loweredge resting upon he projecting ledge B. In order to hold heet-music inplace, I employ a clamping-rod, which is long enough to extend the wholeength of the middle of the page, and has ach end secured to the arms I)D. These rms are pivoted a short distance from their ower ends, whichare made broad, and springs E are secured beneath the rack so as to restipon the lower end of the arms D. WVhen he rod 0 is turned up thesprings will rest 'rgainst the flat ends of the arms, and the heets ofmusic can then be introduced till hey touch the guiding-edge F at oneside of he rack, after which the rod 0 may be shut lown, and will justrest in the middle of the ouble sheet, and also hold the edge of theoose sheet. The springs E act to keep it 'orcibly in place after thearms have been urned until the corners at the lower ends have passed thesprings. In order to turn the leaves I employ a lever, Gr, turning uponan axis between the standards H H, which arise from a suitablebase-plate, I. The le- "or has two sliding arms, J and K, moving throughits outer end, and its axis is arranged to stand in a line, or nearlyso, with the center of the sheet. The arm J is made to slide up so as torest upon the top of the leaf to be turned, while the other arm K issituated just beneath it, and has a point which is made to slide upbeneath the leaf just before the lever G commences to move. The leaf isthus held between these two arms, and when the lever G is turned aboutits axis, the leaf will be carried over to the otherside of the centerof the sheet. The two sliding arms J and K are then withdrawn from theleaf so that when the actuating-spring carries the lever G back to itsoriginal position, these arms will be free from the page. The lever G isconnected with a treadle upon the lower part of the in usic-stand, andthe leaves are turned forward by placing the foot upon this treadle,while a spring within a drum or pulley upon the axis or shaft of thelever G, carries it back again.

In the present case, the pulley L is loosely mounted upon the shaft ofthe lever, and has a coiled spring within it. The cord M is se cured tothis pulley, and passes through the rack and over a suitable pulleybehind, being carried thence to the treadle by which it is operated. Thearm K is actuated from this pulley by means of levers. The knee-leverNis connected with the arm K by means of a link, 0, and has its anglepivoted to the lever G. A rod, I connects the short arm of the leverNwith a pin upon the side of the pulley, which acts like an eccentric orcrank when the treadle is pressed down, and as the pulley is turned, itdraws on the short arm of the lever N, and the long arm thus operates toforce the sliding bar K up until its point is beneath the leaf to beturned. The lever G has its outer end forked, as shown, so that the armsmove up and down the distance between these forks. When, therefore, thearm K has been moved up by the action of the pulley and levers until itsstop strikes the upper part of the forked lever, it will have carriedits point between the leaves a sufficient distance, and the pulley L,which has turned loosely upon its axis to this point, will, when thetreadle is still further depressed, act upon the lever G, by means ofthe same rod P, which is pinned to the side of the pulley, and thus thelever G with its attachments is carried over. The spring within thepulley is coiled up by this action, and will carry the lever back againwhenever it is released. The arm J, which is to rest upon the top of theleaf to be turned, is also linked to a knee-lever, Q, which is pivotedto the lever G. Two curved arms, R- and S, are secured to the base-plateI, one upon each side of the pulley and shaft.

\Vhen the lever G is carried down upon the leaf by the action of thespring the short arm of the lever Q will move down the inside of thefixed arm R, and this will force it back, so as to move the arm J upabove the leaf. The arm K is carried up beneath the leaf by the lever N,when the foot is placed upon the treadle, as before described, and theleaf is turned, lying between the two arms J and K. Before the lever Khas reached the end of its journey the short arm of the lever Q willstrike the outside of the fixed arm S, and, as it follows it down, willbe forced out, so that the long arm will withdraw the arm J from theleaf. The arm K will be withdrawn by the action of the spring within thepulley the instant the treadle is released, and allowed to rise, andthus both arms J and K are withdrawn from the leaf, and are free to moveforward for another leaf.

In the present case I have shown an additional drum, T, which is mountedupon the same shaft with the pulley L, and it contains a spring, whichis designed to assist that within the pulley L; but it is manifest thatthis could be dispensed with when the single spring is made stiffenough. The spring or springs are secured to the axle at their innerend, and to the inside of the drum at their outer end, so that theirtendency will be to turn the containing-drum to the right; and theaction upon the rod P, and, through it, upon the lever G, moves it also.In order to give any desired tension to the spring, I secure aratchet-wheel, U, to the end of the shaft, and a pawl,V, holds thisratchet at any point, so that the spring may be wound up to any desiredtension.

A lug or stop, 7, upon the upper arm of the lever G, and near thesliding arms J and K, serves to prevent the leaves from slipping downwhile they are being turned, so as to hit the ledge B. The sliding armsmove through slots in this ledge, made just wide enough for the purpose.

In order to make my turning device the surest and most effective, itwill be necessary to thicken the lower edges of the sheets to be turned,and this may be done by means of stiff paper or other substance pasted011 at the point where the arms clasp the leaf; or it can be bettereffected by the use of metal strips X, which are stamped out of thinsheets and folded over, so that they can he slipped upon the edge of thesheet, as shown.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

1. The lever G, turning about a center, and having, in combinationtherewith, the sliding arm K, constructed to extend below the leaf to beturned, so as to carry the leaf over by the movement-of the lever,substantially as herein described.

2. The lever G, with its lifting-arm K pass ing below the leaf, and thearm J passing above the leaf, so as to retain it between the two whileit is being turned, substantially as herein described.

3. The device for operating the lever G and sliding arm K, consisting ofthe pulley L with its contained spring, the connecting'rod P, and theknee-lever N, linked to the arm K, the whole constructed to operatesubstantially as and for the purpose herein described.

4. The device for operating the sliding arm J, consisting of theknee-lever Q, pivoted to the lever G and linked to the arm J, and thecurved stationary arms R and S, when constructed to operatesubstantially as herein described.

5. In combination with the pulley L, with its contained spring, mountedas shown, the ratchetwheel U and the pawl V, for regulating the tensionof the spring, substantially as herein described.

6. In combination with the pulley L, with its spring-lever G and slidingarms J and K, operated as shown, the cord M, passing over the pulley andconnecting with a treadle, so as to be operated by the foot,substantially as described.

7. The metal strip X, arranged with springclips to be attached to theleaf, when used in combination with the turning device having thesliding arms J and K, substantially as and for the purpose hereindescribed.

In witness whereof I hereuntoset my hand and seal.

LL. s]

